No Way Out (1987)

Directed by Roger Donaldson. Starring Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Gene Hackman, George Dzundza, Sean Young, Jason Bernard, Iman, Howard Duff, Fred Dalton Thompson, Michael Shillo, John D’Aquino, David Paymer. [R]

Navy man Costner embarks on a torrid affair with the “kept woman” of the Secretary of Defense (Hackman), followed by murder, cover-ups, suspicion of a KGB sleeper agent, and Costner being put in charge of an investigation to find a fall guy (which would incriminate himself). Well-paced serpentine thriller is severely lacking in credulity, but it’s a suspenseful yarn so long as it can be swallowed. Costner taps into an intensity lacking in most of his other early work and Young taps into an effective blend of sexiness and vulnerability (though that haircut hasn’t aged well); as Hackman’s slimy toadie who would do anything for his boss, Patton overdoes the villainy, but at least it’s an entertainingly bad choice. A remake of the 1948 thriller, The Big Clock (as opposed to the unrelated 1950 meller No Way Out), but with a tacked-on twist ending that’s utterly outrageous and needless—it both changes nothing and changes everything, so do yourself a favor and tune out about five minutes early. Eagle-eyed viewers can spot what appears to be a young Brad Pitt as a background extra in the Maori dance scene (though there’s some debate over whether that’s really him).

70/100